Darkesthour Beginnings
by Seriyan
Summary: Darkesthour Guild. Ruairi Server. This is their story. Welcome to the end of the world. Please keep all appendages you'd like to keep near you at all times. Remember to remain seated until the ride has come to a complete stop.
1. Prologue

**OK~ So this is revised version of the guild's story, "Darkesthour Beginnings"**

**I'm actually really really excited to be back on this project! Here's hoping it'll be better received than the first attempt! Whoot whoot!**

**Summary:  
**_Important things don't always happen with a 'bang' or an explosion. It doesn't always have a special flair, or fanfare. Sometimes, the greatest heroes are the ones who aren't, well "hero-ly," But alas, sometimes all that's needed to spark a series of events is a simple cry or a whisper. The unnamed heroes never have a chance to tell their story until now. Welcome to the end of the world. Please keep all appendages you'd like to keep near you at all times. Remember to remain seated until the ride has come to a complete stop._

**Notes from the Authoress:  
****This story's setting is loosely based of of the game Mabinogi. All events placed in this fic happen in an AU version of Erinn where death can happen. All events in this story are fictional and anything parallel to real life is purely coincidental.**

**The characters in this story belong to their rightful owners: my guildmates, close friends, and myself. Please respect that we all put a lot of time and thought into our OC's and wouldn't appreciate having them stolen.**

_**Trigger Warnings:  
There probably be several instances of; **_**but not limited to****:**_demons, fairies, vampires, humanoids, stupidity, loopholes, mental disorders, sociopaths, homicide, genocide, plain insanity, OOC-ness, raging fires, dimension hopping, crackships, filler chapters, crack, stupid off topic tangents, slightly-to-heavily referenced/applied sex, homosexuality, heterosexuality, sexuality in general, blood, gore, torture, general weapons with sound effects included, and maybe an occasional death or twenty. You have been warned._

**If you can handle that, continue with the story. If that bothers you, then by all means, please do not read; or simply skim over the trigger spots. I'll do my best to leave a heads up, but I make no promises.**

**That being said, please enjoy the read.**

* * *

_"And we run with a lonely heart; And we run for this killing love_

_And we run 'til the heavens above; Yeah, we run running in the dark_

_And we run 'til we fall apart; And we run 'til the heavens above"_

* * *

Scowls, disgust, frowns, whispers, bold declarations - it was all too much for her to bare; she couldn't do it anymore, she refused to. In a last ditch effort to block it out, with tears streaming down her face, she covered her ears like a small child and ran, far from the place she called home.

_"Traitor, Just like_ _**her**__, Failure, Screw up. Must be in their blood. Stop tormenting the animals, Sheepie."_

The words seemed to chase her through the Longa Sands carried by the fierce desert winds. _Make it stop, make it stop! _her heart cried silently, as her body was whipped by the airborne sand grains, the words of those ones who were supposed to be her people ringing endlessly in her ears. The desert sun beat down on her skin, intensifying the sting.

Running without ceasing until she just could not run anymore, she found herself crawling to an oasis; praying desperately that it wasn't a mirage, fearing her already bad luck had run out.

Wind battered and exhausted, she finally collapsed near a shallow pool of water, dipping her hands in it experimentally, nearly crying tears of joy when she found it wasn't a mirage.

The sun was beginning to set as she splashed her space and drank greedily from the fresh spring. As the sun gradually faded away, the temperature dropped in accordance. She was unfazed by this though; having grown quite used to the harsh conditions after living there all her life_. Then again_, she thought dryly, _harsh conditions never bothered me too much._

After filling herself with more water, she made herself as comfortable as she could; curling up with her back near a rock structure, she immediately fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Come morning, she was awakened by the sensation of a small, harmless lizard crawling on her exposed leg. With a yawn she looked at the little creature before gently picking it and putting it on a nearby rock where it could sunbathe in peace.

Rubbing her eyes, she rose and walked over to the pool, regarding her reflection. "Rough" was probably the nicest way of putting it.

Her long, rich blonde hair remained windblown and was visibly lightened from the dust blown into it from the combination of sleeping on sand as well as the desert winds. Her scarlet eyes were bloodshot with circles under them - she'd been tired for a long time. Truly that night on the ground was one of the best nights of sleep she'd gotten since that day.

That one day her world was torn upside down. She was young, a preteen at oldest; but in that moment, she felt like she was older than the ground she stood on.

"Now... let's see what I actually remember about survival..." she murmured aloud before laughing bitterly as she searched through the small satchel she'd picked up before running the previous afternoon, visibly face palming when she saw the actual contents that should have been in the bag were gone thanks to a large hole. "And this is what I get for not checking beforehand. Good job Ksenny," she muttered bitterly to herself, "you messed up again." Unable to do anything aside from groan in frustration, _I thought it seemed kind of light come to think of it..._ she thought, before angrily throwing the satchel at the nearby rock wall.

"My my, " a sudden appearance of another person caused Ksenny to shriek and spin on her heels before promptly landing on her rear before shrieking at said person in a fit of embarrassment and anger, "What was that for? WAIT WHY ARE YOU EVEN OUT HERE?" her voice raised several octaves.

Stifling a chuckle, the man brushed some of his snow white hair out of his face, "well, just passin' through," he answered in a tone that while sincere, still held and undertone of sarcasm, "and yourself?"

"..." She stared blankly at him, pulling her hair up off her neck and holding it with her hands before exhaling sharply and letting her hair fall back onto her shoulders and down her back. "I uh..." she trailed off, wondering how exactly one explains 'I'm running away because I'm sick of dealing with life' without coming off as a brat going through a pre-midlife crisis.

Deep crimson eyes scanned the thrown satchel before darting back to the young lady in front of him, "Runnin' away?" he asked without a hint of judgement in his voice, eyes clear in understanding.

"Uh..." she trailed off before sighing, "yeah." She watched him intently, frowning slightly. This man spoke with an air of importance, but his lazy-tongue accent made it seem as if everything was a joke to him. It confused her.

"Ah," he said softly, sitting down near her, "must be pretty bad, huh?"

"Well... yeah," she answered weakly, taking a seat beside the man.

"Oz Kuolema, by the way," he introduced himself, adjusting his black shirt, beads of sweat rolling down his face. "I hate the sun," he murmured dryly.

"Oh, Ksenny Yanae," she greeted, extending her hand politely. "and yeah, its hot," she agreed quietly.

"Pleasure to meet you," he responded automatically shaking her hand. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Um..." she trailed off, hesitating.

"If it'll help you get it off your chest, then please talk. I don't mind listenin' and I have all the time in the world," he assured her in a soft tone, going as far as to ruffle her hair in an affectionate and comforting gesture. "Ya know, ya remind me of someone really dear to me."

"Oh?" she inquired curiously, tilting her head to the side. "I do?"

With a pained laugh, Oz smiled bitterly, "Yeah. My younger cousin. He was about your age when I last saw him. Cute 'lil thing he was," Oz trailed off seeming to take a trip down memory lane, "my parents died when I was young so my aunt and uncle raised me," he explained quietly, "there were always good to me, and then of course the kid came along," he smiled fondly, "I wonder what he's up to these days..." he trailed off, before sighing. "Kid probably hates me now, but its better that way," he said more to himself than to her.

"W-what happened...?" she dared to ask softly, drawn into his ramblings.

"A huge misunderstandin'," Oz said with a sigh, "that resulted in our home and family dyin'."

"Oh," Ksenny murmured before falling into an awkward silence, wringing her hands not knowing what else to say or do.

"Care to share yours, since I shared mine?" He asked curiously, saving her from having to think of something else to say.

"Ah..." she stammered in embarassment of being put on the spot, "W-well, my sister... she left and I wanted to find her," she explained, "thing is... Filia... well they constantly compared me to her, they said mean things...and I left because I just couldn't take it anymore."

"That must'a been tough," he commented, "was she a prodigy?"

"It was," she answered sadly, "and well... in a sense, I guess. She was really good at magic and singing," her expression perked slightly, "we were best friends though, we did everything together..." she trailed off again, her voice going flat, "and then she just... disappeared."

"Hm... That's sad," Oz lamented, "so... findin' her's gonna be a real pain in the ass, isn' it?"

"... that's putting it mildly," she answered after an extended silence, still baffled by the strange man before her.

"So... Yanae... hm..." he tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Ksenny. Your sister wouldn't happen'ta be named _Seriyan_ would she?"

"H-How do you know that!?" She half gasped, half shrieked.

"Well," he paused to clear his throat, "there's rumors circulatin'round Uladh of a lil' gypsy who goes by the name _Seriyan Yanae_. She's said to be a phenomenal singer and musician," he explained blinking slightly, studying her face. So many emotions passed through Ksenny's scarlet eyes; ranging from fear to sheer joy. He saw and could name them all. "Yer much like Sai was when he was your age," he murmured more to himself than to her as he pulled a flier out of his bag. "Tell me dear, is this your sister?"

Hands shaking, she took the flyer from his hands. Eyes widening in disbelief. There it was on the paper in her hands. Actual proof her sister was alive. Warm eyes of identical color stared back at her. A cute pale face was framed by pink curls, and she smiled with such warmth, Ksenny felt like she were seeing it in person once again.

"S...Ser..." tears streamed down her face. "...its her... Its..." Her grip on the paper tightened and the paper wrinkled and tore in her shaking hands.

"Whadaya say we mak'a partnership of sorts?" Oz suggested, after giving the emotion filled female a moment to compose herself, "I'll help ya find ya sis, and all ya gotta do is keep me company while I hunt for a way to make up with my cousin."

"Really!?" she squealed excitedly, nodding with enthusiasm.

"Of course," Oz calmly responded, extending his hand.

It was with vigor that Ksenny shook it, still a messy bundle of emotions.

The sun beat down on the duo, and the wind whipped through their hair and clothes, but they smiled in understanding and in hopes of a successful journey.

"First things first," Oz grunted, "Let's get out of this desert."

With the first genuine laugh since Seriyan had vanished, Ksenny nodded happily, "Agreed."

Finally. She wasn't alone anymore. She was no longer an outcast. She'd found a home. It was everything she'd ever wanted.

* * *

Dark absinthe eyes scanned the area as a slight breeze danced through his long black hair. The mid day sun beat down on his lightly tanned skin. Frowning when he failed to see what he was looking for, "She's late," he spoke softly, leaning farther out the window looking at the streets below. "She's never late. Taku," he called to his lover, obvious worry etched in his voice. "I think something happened to her."

Glancing at Rasier in the mirror, Taku calmly continued getting ready for work - he was a royal chef in the palace - and ran a hand through his light lilac hair, "Baby, she may have gotten tied up, and you're gonna have to let go of the reigns sometime. She's _not _a child anymore, no matter how much you deny it. Not to mention she's not "never late," as you put it. She's just usually punctual," he corrected his lover.

"But she's late," Ras persisted, finally bringing his upper body back into the room. "She usually sends word if she's gonna be late."

"I'm sure she's fine, Baby," Taku reasoned calmly, "she'd send word if she was in danger, don't you think? Face it, we'd probably have a lil poo-faced Tsuki barking at the gate guardians."

"Yes I don't deny that, but she's late!" Ras continued his tangent, seemingly unable to say anything else, still worried about his princess. "I'm gonna go look for her."

"You really need to chill Ras, give Princess until nightfall and if she's not back by then, then go look for her. She was coming from Emain, was she not? She probably slept in. You know this," Taku reassured his lover with a warm embrace while placing a quick kiss on Rasier's forehead.

"Alright," Rasier finally relented, relaxing in Taku's arms.

"And Baby," Taku continued, hugging his lover tighter, "when she gets here, don't jump her with fifty-questions and demand to know how every second of her morning went."

"I don't do that," Ras defended, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You did that last time, and you even asked her if her," he paused to clear his throat, "ahem, cycle was still normal, if I remember correctly," Taku deadpanned, struggling not to shutter. He was still mentally scarred from that. He and his adoptive daughter had worn identical looks of stupefaction.

_Light scarlet met light amethyst as the duo exchanged baffled glances. The wordless "Did he really just?" passed between them._

_"Seriyan. I'm waiting. Is it?" Rasier asked again with a stern tone that held more concern than anger._

_"As far as I know its normal. I mean I haven't done anything that would cause it to change," their petite child answered honestly, blinking in confusion, brushing her bangs out of her eyes._

_"Good. Good. That's my babygirl~" Ras trilled in a happy tone, hugging the young lady who continued to send questioning glances to Taku who shrugged and left the room to go prepare dinner for his family while Rasier proceeded to make rather silly cooing noises as he rubbed his cheek against Seriyan's._

_Maybe I shouldn't have left her to fend for herself against Ras,_ he thought in hindsight,stifling a snicker, brought only back to reality from his musings when he heard Rasier's defensive stammering.

"Well, I uh... well that was me making sure -"

"Our Princess is fine, she can handle herself, unless you are trying to call yourself a bad teacher since you're the one who taught her magic," Taku interrupted his stammering husband. He was unable to prevent the teasing sing-song voice he was using, adoring the flustered blush across Rasier's face.

"I'm a great teacher and I have no idea what you're talking about," Rasier defended with gusto; recovering from his temporary loss of words rather quickly. "My princess can take care of any ruffian that tries to get in her way!" he bragged, hands on his hips with his chest puffed out.

"Of course she can," Taku encouraged, thankful his little tactic worked. _Maybe he'll be calm for a few hours,_ he thought. "So why don't you go get her a dress or something for when she gets here?" the pale haired man suggested, letting go of his lover to get his chef's hat.

"That's a great idea! Hm... Ribbon, lace... OH! Both!" Rasier declared passionately with both fists clenched and fire in his eyes while in a dramatic pose; causing Taku to sweatdrop in an anime-like fashion.

"Mhm... I'm gonna go to work now, Baby. You... go do that shopping thing _and please don't break the bank,"_ he added the last part as more of a mutter to himself before stealing a quick kiss from Rasier. "I'll see you when my shift is over. If she hasn't made it back by then, then we will go looking for her, alright?"

With a heavy sigh, knowing he would be unable to change Taku's mind, Rasier relented, "Sounds good."

With a nod, Takuto left the room to head down to the lower levels to start his work day leaving Rasier to his own business of his _wonderful preparations to break the bank._

* * *

Coughing violently, Takori gazed at the blackened, charred remains of what had once been fish with nausea. The scent of the burnt fish flooded his nostrils and he felt like he'd be smelling the stench for weeks on end.

_Lovely,_ he thought, tossing his failed dish into the fire; his stomach letting out a rumble in protest as he made a mental note to stop at the pub once he got to Port Cobh. _That probably would have been the dish that killed me,_ he added bitterly, absently wondering why even even bothered to try cooking anymore these days.

Kicking dirt at his small cooking fire until it was extinguished, the vagabond picked up his bag and trudged on his path due southeast.

The midafternoon sun beat down on his skin as he continued onwards. As he drew closer to his destination, he could smell the salty sea breeze as he felt the wind kiss his ochre hair, lightly blowing it out of his eyes.

Just through the thicket of trees, his destination, he could already see the sparkle of the sun upon the ocean. Another rumble courtesy of his stomach. "Shut up, I'll feed you when its time," he muttered under his breath, slapping his belly.

Ignoring the nearby path usually taken by travelers, he staggered haphazardly through the thicket, his clothing getting tangled in the brambles. Knowing he looked rather foolish, _its worth it_, he reasoned, having a shorter distance to walk.

After nearly landing on his face leaving the thicket, thankful there'd been no other pedestrians around to see it, he easily brushed his clothes off and smiled, seeing the pub was right down the hill upon which he was standing.

Moving quickly, he skid down the hill easily catching himself upon landing before calmly walking into the building, receiving a cheerful greeting from Annick; which he gladly returned, "The usual!" He told her upon sitting down.

"You got it~" the owner chirped, "Give me ten."

"Yes, Ma'am," he responded politely, absently looking out the window. Zoning peacefully as he gazed at the waves. Surprised when his drink was brought to him, quickly murmuring a "thank you," as he returned to watching the sailors hard at work on the docks.

_It'd be fun to be a sailor, _ he mused, _traveling everywhere, seeing everything… new things… new foods… maybe some cooking lessons…._ Absently picturing himself on a ship with his own crew; offhandedly imagining being a pirate captain, nearly bursting into spontaneous laughter at the thought of himself and Equi in pirate gear. His friend sporting a rainbow eyepatch while he himself drowned in an oversized hat while they'd both donned random chicken suits and called themselves "Tuna."

Equi… ah… his friend. He thought back to the day they'd parted ways sadly. _I wonder what he's up to,_ he thought bitterly.

It'd been his decision to walk away, and he knew he'd have to stick to it no matter how painful it was. He couldn't bare the thought of hurting his best friend. He admittedly loved the other man like family and thought of him as his own brother.

With a heavy sigh, he banished thoughts of his friend from his mind. His mood perking up when Annick brought him his favorite dish. He had to admit as he greedily scarfed his food down, he really needed more sleep.

_Tuna Pirates? Pfft they'd call us all Sea Chickens, we'd be the laughing stalk of the pirate world,_ he reasoned rationally, a small smile played at his lips as he took a drink before wiping his mouth clean with his napkin. _Tonight,_ he promised himself silently, _I'm sleeping in a proper bed at the inn, _and then continued to eat his food in a way that could only be described as 'starving lion.'

_Well,_ he thought lightly, _at least we'd be able to sneak attack while our enemies laughed to death._

* * *

_Achoo!_ The force of his sneeze literally left him sitting at the base of a tree. The humanoid male sat, dazed, fox ears erect and tail bushed up in a way that matched his messy deep indigo hair.

They were passing through Sliab Cullen, on route to Tir Chonaill after meeting up with a friend who'd willingly fixed Equi's gear.

"Are you catching cold, Equi?" the vixen asked in a hushed tone that only her companion could hear.

"Nah, I'm fine Katni," he answered, scratching his head sheepishly. "I guess Tako's talking about me somewhere!" he declared with gusto, his tail swishing excitedly, blue-violet eyes sparkling.

The fox before him face-pawed. "Somehow, I highly doubt that," she muttered more to herself than to him. "Come on Equi. Put your ears and tail away. This is a well-traveled path, it wouldn't do good for you to be mistaken for a formor."

"Yeah yeah," he agreed, relaxing and allowing his ears and tail to go back to their hidden state. "Hey Katni, about how close are we?"

"We're about five minutes from the logging camp," she answered automatically, hopping up on his shoulder, giving his cheek an affectionate nuzzle. "You gonna visit Tracy again?"

"You know it! He owes me a game of poker! I can't wait to beat him again!"

His zest was contagious and Katni started laughing cheerfully, "Make him buy us dinner this time," she joked, her tail swishing, playfully swatting the back of her friend's head, "and pay for our stay at Tir Chonaill's inn."

"We'll eat like royalty!" he declared with a laugh, mouth watering as he thought of Nora's cooking.

Their idle chatter passed the time and before long the sounds of the busy logging camp reached their ears. The scent of the fresh pines was overwhelming and Equi felt his nose wanting to run; right when Katni herself sneezed.

"Bless you," Equi responded automatically, stepping out of the trees and into the sunlight.

"Eeeeeyyy Tracy!" he yelled loudly, "I didn't come all this way for you to give me the cold shoulder!"

"Now now my boy!" the old lumberjack sassed back with a gruff voice, "is that anyway to greet an old man? How've ya been, kiddo?"

With pleasantries out of the way, the two then sat down for what really mattered; an all out war in a game of poker. Equi having a _slight_ advantage. "You're gonna pay for my stay at the inn!" he bragged in jest.

"You'll be singing a different tune when you're working for me," Tracy bragged back.

Both donning identical grins, the games began.

* * *

"_And we run with a lonely heart_

_And we run for this killing love_

_And we run for a heavenly heart"_

_"And We Run" - Within Temptation_

* * *

**Characters in this chapter: **

**Takuto13, Rasier, Takori, Ksenny, Deadoz, equinox78**

**Mentioned in this chapter:**

**Deathsai, Seriyan**

**Also, it should be noted that this is the prologue~ **

**Stay tuned for chapter 1. COMING SOON! Chapters will be much longer from this next chapter on C:  
**

**Feedback is always welcomed and extremely appreciated! Thank you for reading and I hope it was enjoyable.**


	2. Formations

**Alrighty~ so it should be noted that this is chapter 1, and takes place roughly ****six months after**** the prologue.**

**Notes from the Authoress:**

**Guess who doesn't work for Nexon or have rights to the game? That's right. Me. Please don't sue me. The only thing you'll get is an old shoe and maybe a shredded sock. So yeah. Don't do it. Its not worth your time or money.**

**This chapter is really Sai and Seriyan heavy and is rather slow, but its a requirement to set the foundation for the rest of the story, so bear with me.**

**Disclaimer:**

_The first step to forgiveness is accepting that the other person is an idiot._

_You can't always control who walks into your life; but you can control what window you throw them out of._

**And this has been your daily life lessons with Seri. Enjoy the read.**

**Trigger Warnings:**

_Bad Words (Especially the "F" word.) Heated makeouts. Blood. Super hardcore ninja mode go, Character Death/Murder. The Authoress is a sadist._

* * *

"_I lost my way here in this quest, can't lie_

_I can't believe what's happening, I don't know what to say_

_I cant believe I left to see this day_

_I don't wanna live this way, it haunts my mind_

_And I just need to get it straight, stop wasting time_

_And I don't wanna live and feel that I can change what's right_

_But I know, we'll be living in a lie"_

* * *

Sighs and heavy breathing kept the dark basement from being completely silent. His lips met her's in a frantic frenzy, and she returned the hastey kisses. He lifted her up and pushed her against the wall as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Entwining his fingers in her curly pink hair, he cursed silently to himself when one of his fangs grazed her lower lip.

It was her fault they were in this situation really. It was supposed to be a routine stealth infiltration mission,_ but no, Madam Pinky just had to get drunk,_ he relented somewhere in the back of his mind. _But,_ he had to give her credit, _it was her fast thinking that saved our asses._

He'd already put off his weekly feeding as long as he could and now tasting _her blood_ only reminded him of how bad he'd really let himself go this time. He'd already been irritable most of the day from the blood lust and by the time he'd found her he hadn't had a chance to go find a random person to feed on, and had been feeling lightheaded ever since he and his partner had first entered the basement. _But,_ he had reasoned at the time, _we have a job to do so that has to come first._ Being a vampire, in his honest opinion, sucked some ass.

He could taste the tart alcohol in her system, but paid that no mind, knowing he'd probably have a buzz of his own sometime soon. What hit him was the magic in her blood; such intensity, he'd really never had anything like it. He knew she was a fairy, she'd told him that herself after they became partners - they'd been working together ever since he'd dug her out of the desert sands six months prior. While he wasn't intending to feed on her, he knew that if he didn't, he'd pass out; and that wouldn't bode well with their mission.

It'd been stupid really, he said something and pissed her off, she stormed out and went and got drunk. _Ok, so pissing her off was my fault,_ he admitted, _but she didn't have to go and start drinking. She knew we were doing this tonight._

And so here they were in the basement of Sen Mag Castle; locked in a rather sloppy make-out session surrounded by security guards.

They'd gone to stay at the castle under the guise as newlyweds wanting to view the scenery and were staying as only two of the many other guests attending the residential area's annual festival. While most of the civilians were attending the festival, they'd sneak into the archive room and steal some documents for their information broker. General business. They'd get the information they wanted, at a price.

"_This damn information better be worth it," Seriyan had told him dryly, hands on her hips, her face scrunched up in an exasperated experesssion._

He could see the moment she'd told him that as clearly as if she were doing it before him presently; and in that moment, he couldn't have agreed more.

_At least she stayed true to our cover,_ Sai thought dryly. Pulling her even closer for dramatic effect, before pulling away from his 'lover' as a dramatic show of breaking their kiss, "Ahem," he wore a not-so-fake irked expression, "Do you mind?" he said to the guards. _I hate my life. I hate my life,_ he thought in sour frustration. What little blood he'd gotten from her was not near enough to sustain him for the week; but it'd hold him over for at least ten minutes.

"You two aren't supposed to be down here," one of them informed the duo.

"Awww come on~~~" The tipsy fairy trilled cheerfully, "it's _our honeymoon_, can't you just let it slide this once," she paused with a slight hiccup," at least having the sense to act like she was guilty. "Pleaaasseee," she begged coyly, "where's your sense of risque adventure?"

_Fuck my life,_ Sai thought darkly as he played along, having gotten a taste of Seriyan's blood he was already starting to feel the buzz of the alcohol in her blood affect him, too quickly for his liking, "Yeah~" he chirped, "haven't you ever wanted to have fun?"

"Oh com'on cap. They're kids," one of them urged his superior, "remember when you and your wife-"

"That's enough," the captain snapped, flushing slightly. "Just escort them back to their rooms," he ordered before turning a sharp gaze on the duo before him, "and don't sneak down here again."

"Yessir~" Sai and Seriyan chimed in unison, Sai picking Seri up and carrying her bridal style up the stairs. Dramatic effect, yes. It made him look like a true helpless romantic; the reality was he knew Seriyan would be unable to walk because of that combination of alcohol plus the endorphins released from his fangs. He'd already felt her go slack and lean on him for support when he was holding her, _She'll probably be out of commission for a few hours,_ he thought, feeling the room sway - maybe that was him; he didn't know nor did he care at that point. _Fuck if I'll be able to find a feeder at this hour, _he thought grumpily, feeling his arms weaken. While Seriyan was by no means heavy, the stress of everything was catching up to him and his whole body felt like a deadweight; carrying her wasn't helping at all.

He was still determined to get himself and his companion in their room before passing out though. His internal clock told him it was somewhere around two in the morning.

Upon making it back to the luxurious room they shared - their informant's guild greasing all the bells and whistles for the sake of their cover - he vaguely heard the guard's chiding of "no more racy adventures" followed by "have a wonderful night."

Closing the door, he trudged to the bed and unceremoniously dropped Seriyan on it. Before climbing in beside her. _At the very least, it'll look like a hickey,_ was his last coherent thought before being consumed by the bloodlust; knowing he'd probably regret it later, passing out shortly after taking the bare minimum from her.

* * *

Light scarlet eyes fluttered open at the sound of the castle's bell tolling noon. _Its way too loud,_ she thought groggily; the bell hurting her sensitive ears. Her head spun as she pieced the events that had taken place the previous day. The argument, the drinks, what happened in the basement. She vaguely remembered him feeding off her. She honestly couldn't for the life of her remember what he'd said that had made her so angry, nor did she care to remember. It'd been ridiculous anyway.

_Ah fuck it all,_ she thought dryly her head pounding with the after affects of her alcohol binge the previous night. Preparing to give her partner a rather not so gentle shove out onto the floor.

She changed her mind after one good look at Sai, sleeping soundly next to her. _Stupid ass_, she thought, affectionately running her fingers through his hair. _You know better than to push it like that,_ she observed the darker than normal rings under his eyes, and his lightly tanned complexion ashen. Despite the fact he had a tendency to get under her skin - usually intentionally on his part - she considered him one of her best friends and cared for him. Of course, there was also the _minor detail_ he bailed her out of a nearly _four million gold_ debt - which she was truly grateful for - there were no longer giant bandits chasing her down for money.

They found that they worked well together, especially at night. Sai being able to see very well in the darkness, and she herself having her hyper-sensitive hearing; it was perfect. He could see to fight close combat, and she could hear enemy approaching and warn him ahead of time allowing them to prepare an ambush of their own. Tested and proven once when they'd been traveling through Sen Mag during a would-be bandit ambush.

He'd been an enigma to her at first; seeming to not want anything to do with or or people in general. She'd seen him outright kill, he wasn't one to be trifled with; but it changed as she got to know him. He'd admitted that her aura made him feel relaxed once night when they were talking about _weird traits_ they both had. Several things had come up: he could manipulate shadows, read auras, and see exceptionally well in the dark. She was a fairy, her hearing, and of course the seal on her chest. As much of a pain as it was - Seriyan was unable to remember her early childhood and trying to remember cause the seal to activated and send waves of excruciating pain through her body. Then of course was her _super healing_ as Sai had called it; she'd always been able to recuperate rather quickly.

His backstory, she'd learned one night on a mission when he'd had a nightmare that forced him to relive the worst day of his life. As he leaned on her shaking like a leaf, his story spilled in a panicked rumble.

His own cousin had framed him for the murder of his parents and then the night prior to his execution, destroyed his home.

Knowing that Sai didn't like to show his weak side, she'd simply sang a lullaby she'd picked up from her adoptive fathers as she pet his hair until he finally relaxed and drifted back to sleep. The following morning she took it upon herself to actually get up early and make breakfast instead of pawning it off on him as was the norm, and said no more on the matter. After that particular incident, she'd found him very easy to read and was no longer wary of him.

Drawn out of her musings by hearing a clammer near the kitchen, she absently eavesdropped as she continued to run her fingers through Sai's hair. Closing her eyes to better focus on the castle staff's conversation. It was one of the moments she was thankful for her hearing, it made spying easy despite the drawback of loud things in general giving her a migraine, or hearing more than she desired to know about a person.

Her peaceful expression turned into a frown before slowly opening her eyes. "Looks like we really did luck out last night," She said to her now awake companion, "Shortly after we got _escorted_ out they caught someone breaking into the archives. Probably some of Embezzler's rivals. There's apparently a hidden camera even Siennah didn't know about along the wall facing the door. Security's gonna be tighter so it'd probably be better to wait another day before we try again. We still have two more days before the festival ends."

"Heard my breathing change," he confirmed rather than asked in a sleep raspy voice while stifling a yawn.

"Yep," she answered, not looking at him. "Seems like that new cam was installed the day after we got here," she informed.

"Ah," he commented, rolling over from his side to his back. "Looks like we'll really have to play up the act now that we got _busted_ over the next few days."

"Probably make several appearance at the festival too," she agreed quietly. "and Sai," she asserted, "_Don't ever push off your feeding like that again._ Feed off me if need be, but this could have been the thing that killed you. Don't give me that _I'm fine_ shit either. You look like you've been run over by a merchant's elephant."

"And you're really attractive with your baggy hangover eyes too," he deadpanned, his look of exasperation quickly turning into mock cries for help when she hit him in the face with her pillow. "and sorry about what I said yesterday, but was going and getting _drunk_ necessary?"

"I wasn't drinking because I was mad," she paused under his scrutinizing gaze, "at least at the end of it. I only had two while I was mad I actually stopped after those two and was leaving to find you. After that, this," she gestured to the elaborate anemone flower engraved on her chest, "flared up and I went back for more to numb it out."

"Ah," he said, nodding in understanding. "well, all things considering, I'm glad it went down the way it did then," he sighed, brushing his shaggy black bangs out of his face.

"Me too, and I'm sorry too," she relented, burying her face in her hands and laying back down, groaning pitifully.

"Why don't you just sleep off that hangover and I'll wake you up for the festival tonight so we can make a grand appearance?" he suggested lightly, yawning by the end of the sentence.

"You look like you could use the sleep too," she commented with eyes half closed. "and I'm _not_ hungover," she snapped weakly.

"I probably will sleep here and there," he half whispered, turning so that his back was to her. "Sleep well _Madam Pinky_," he murmured, ignoring her denial.

"Yeah yeah," she yawned, curling up in a fetal position, lightly kicking the back of his leg, "you too, _Ass."_

With a sigh, a pale hand ran through snow white hair before pulling his black cloak over his head. "Incompetent," he mumbled as he passed through the busy village center.

* * *

_Morri. Known for housing the temples of Aton the Great,_ he mentally recited in a scholarly fashion. _Beautiful place, I'll give them that; however,_ crimson eyes darted to where several paladins gathered around a street stall. _Security seems to be most lax mid afternoon. Perfect,_ he noted, continuing to meander around the village.

_Ksenny probably would have loved the scenery here,_ he noted in hindsight. He'd left her back at their lair studying a map of Uladh with a list of her sister's known show locations and told her to decided what she thought would be her best course of action in finding her sister; treating her as an apprentice.

She'd eagerly accepted the task and promised to do her best. _Smart girl,_ he praised silently. _I'll just take her a souvenir back,_ he continued glancing around, taking in as much as possible.

"Oh, can I help you…? You seem lost," a robed bald man with an overly cheerful smile asked.

"Oh! Why actually yes you can…" he trailed off, "oh dear where are my manners?" he added with a clumsy smile, "You're a monk of Aton the great, right?" bowing formally, "I meant no disrespect, I'd really appreciate any help you can give me!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

"Oh yes, I am," the monk answered kindly, "now what can I help you with?"

_Ah perfect, a naive old fool,_ he thought, keeping his outer appearance schooled. _From that pendant hanging he's one of the ones inside the volt, Perfect._

"Well actually…" Oz began, meeting the elder man's gaze and holding it, watching as the monk's eyes glazed over signalling the monk was under his spell. "...I need you to do something for me…"

_The old bat doesn't stand a chance_.

* * *

Opening his eyes with a slight groan, a quick glance at the overly bright light coming through the curtains told him it was late afternoon and twilight would be quickly approaching. Simply put - it was time.

With a heavy sigh, he rolled over and glanced at his still sleeping companion; her back to him with her hair spread across the pillow. As he gazed at her, he briefly wondered how much holy water she would dump on him if he were to push her out of the bed, eyeing her bag - her bow and arrows packed away neatly.

_Not worth chancing it,_ he thought, shaking his head, before getting up and making his way to the shower.

He was rather groggy and his head hurt - he hadn't slept much after all - having spent the afternoon _trying_ to sleep turned into watching Seriyan hog the covers and manage to cacoon them around her and listening to her even breathing.

_That was really stupid_, he scolded himself as he let the hot water run over his body. He was still feeling the effects of his close-call the previous night. His head was throbbing with a migraine, but he didn't complain - it was his own fault for waiting until the last possible minute. He'd gotten lucky, thinking back to an instance in Kuolemata when one of the servants fell out dead because they waited too long for their weekly feeding.

With a sigh, he cut the water off and dried and dressed himself before making his way out into the room. He quitely padded over to the bed where his companion still slept. Lightly putting a hand on her side and gently shaking her awake. "Its time," he informed her softly.

Rolling over onto her back looking at him through confused, half open eyes she blinked twice before responding with a very _intelligent _"huh?"

Stifling an outright laugh, he continued to nudge her, "Seriiii," he drawled, "com'on, its show time, I've already had a shower so its your turn. I'm going to get dinner and we can eat before we go out."

After a rather large yawn and stretching, Seriyan sat up and rubbed her eyes, "Get extra honeydew?" she asked, looking at him with obvious begging in her eyes.

"Of course," he nodded before backing away from the bed. "I'll be back shortly."

"Thank you~" she chimed excitedly, getting out of bed herself to go rummage through her bag.

* * *

As Sai left the room, he heard her mumbling to herself about 'what to wear.' After a subtle glance around the occupied hall, he quickly shifted into character, "Now Sweetie, whatever you choose to wear will look simply divine on you," he called to her before closing the door.

While none of the other guests around looked like they were Embezzler's rivals, remotely dangerous, or even security guards, he didn't want to risk their cover being blown. The previous night had been close enough, and if they wanted their mission to go unhitched, then playing the part, even when probably not needed, was the key.

"_He's so sweet!" "Ah young love." "Why don't __**you**__ do that anymore?"_

He vaguely heard the comments of some of the other guests as he made his way to the dining area. Thankfully, dinner was come and go, with the option of take-out, instead of a formal dine-in setting.

While the dining hall was elegant, with the rustic wooden walls, mahogany drapes hung over the floor to ceiling windows tied back with elaborate gold tassels that overlooked the nearby lake. A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling the beading resembling raindrops. While it vaguely reminding him of Kuolemata's palace, he pushed his homesickness aside and forced himself to stay focused on his task at hand.

Picking up two plates, he made his way over to the makeshift buffet bar and began fixing their dinner; shamelessly taking the whole bowl of honeydew along with him and borrowing a small dinner cart to hold the plates for him. Lazy? Yes. Did he care? Absolutely not.

Seeing nothing of significant importance, he finished his task and headed back to the room, dramatically calling out to his so-called wife, "Sweetie~ I'm back~" he announced before opening the door.

"Great! I'm starving!" her voice was muffled through the door.

_Guess that means she's dressed,_ he thought before opening the door and wheeling the cart in.

"So tell me Darling~ Do I look divine?" Seri asked playing coy, twirling the ends of her hair around her finger and batting her eyelashes in an obvious attempt to be cute.

"Eh… Not really. I've seen better," he jibbed, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. A chuckle escaped when he ducked to avoid an incoming pillow.

"Ass," she hissed, frowning and crossing her arms in front of her chest. Her lower lip poked out while she sulked.

Still laughing at her expression, Sai wheeled the cart over. "I got the whole plate of honeydew for you."

Her sour expression perked and the pout was immediately replaced with a smile. "Gimme." She demanded, wasting no time to ensure the fruit plate was the first thing to leave the cart.

"So demanding," he teased lightly, taking his own plate and having a seat at the table - politely waiting on his company to join him.

"Of course. I know what I want and I go for it," she answered automatically taking a seat at her own chair.

The duo then proceeded to finish their meal in a comfortable silence.

Upon finishing, Sai made his way to the bathroom and Seriyan spend the idle time finishing getting ready.

* * *

Upon finishing their preparations, the partners made their way out of the privacy of the castle to the crowded streets of the residential area. The atmosphere was warm and mellow and the square was decorated smartly with elaborate lighting, food and game stands lined the streets.

At one point, Sai decided to take some of his pent up frustration from the previous night out on the poor unfortunate soul in the dunking tank. Much to his embarrassment, he won a not so manly stuffed rabbit clad in pink frills and lace - which he promptly shoved at Seriyan; who only made it worse as she proceeded to make the damn thing dance and sit between them when they paused at a bench to enjoy some ice cream. The final straw however, was when she put the damn on his head and in an intentional squeaky voice in a sad attempt to imitate Simon declare that "The bunny now rules thee."

He quickly ducked out from under the stupid plush, that he was _most definitely_ certain was mocking him with its over-sized far too joyful eyes.

"Oh come on," Seriyan chimed playfully bumping his right arm with her shoulder, "He's a total cutie!"

"Uh. _He's_ decked out in pink and lace," Sai retorted smartly, smirking when she stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're just jealous he rocks my colors better than you."

"Oh yeah, totally," he grinned, at least feeling better than he had the previous night and throughout the day. "I think he rocks it better than you though."

That was the comment that earned him a smack in the face from said _fluffy white rabbit._

* * *

As it gradually grew later, feeling that adequate time had passed of keeping their cover, they began to head back to the castle - they still had a job to do after all. And thankfully, she'd put the _stupid_ rabbit plush away in her bag.

"Sai." Seriyan said sharply, narrowing her eyes. "There's a problem. An alarm's going off in the basement and I hear horses galloping this way. I think that -" she was cut off when Sai abruptly tackled her into the thicket. "Shh," he hissed.

After a few minutes of neither daring to move a platoon of guards soon passed by, giving chase to the thieves.

"Looks like the rivals got there first," the fairy whispered once the soldiers were out of earshot.

"Not for long," Sai grumpled before turning his gaze to the direction he saw Seriyan quickly turn her head.

"I hear-" she began, but he cut her off.

"_Shit!"_ Sai swore as they watched the cloaked figures disappear into the trees; closing his eyes and holding a hand out above his shadow. It pooled and a blob rose from it quickly shaping into a horse. Quickly giving Seriyan a boost to get on before hopping up himself, he had his shadow horse give chase in a full gallop. "Can you still hear them?" he asked earnestly, his eyes scanning the area.

"Yes I can. They aren't too far off," Seriyan answered. "Veer East. We can ambush the thugs, and miss the guards."

"And maybe get the documents and go," Sai acknowledged with a nod. "Good plan."

And so they rode through the trees in virtual silence with only the sound of hooves pounding the earth. Catching up to their targets had been the easy part. What was going to be tricky was staying off the radar until their targets had lost the guards chasing them so that they could steal the documents unhitched.

Fate seemed to smile upon them as they came to a small clearing. "Seems they lost the guards for now. If we're quick, we can grab them and go."

"Too easy," one of the thugs bragged haughtily, waving the file around.

"You fucking moron, why the hell would you do that?" his accomplice questioned roughly whilst punching his partner in the nose. "We gotta get these back to the boss in one piece."

In the trees Sai and Seriyan exchanged a one-sided glance; clearly Embezzler's rivals didn't send the most intelligent agents out there.

Silently recalling his horse, Sai grabbed his concealed dagger and immediately charged their enemies, slicing the more intelligent of the two cleanly in the neck.

Something in the other goon's eyes changed and he wore a more feral expression, throwing a heavy punch in Sai's direction; his task of guarding the documents seemingly forgotten.

The man was much taller than Sai and had a much thicker muscle density and was surprisingly fast for someone of his build.

Ducking and dodging the fists, Seriyan dashed forward to retrieve the now scattered documents. As she grabbed the scattered documents, she swore under her breath upon hearing another set of feet charging at her from behind.

Swearing, she spun around and sent a series of electrically charged blasts at her opponent, cursing out loud as she thought of her bow left back in the room. She'd left it because as party goers, they wouldn't need to carry weapons. _Not that it'd have done me much good in the dark_, she thought bitterly, dancing circles around her opponent. There was no moon in the overcast sky and she was relying on sound rather than sight to avoid her opponent.

Sai continued his mini tango with the unattractive beast as his dagger clashed with his opponent's sword, focusing on ducking and dodging his opponent's wild swings; smirking at his advantage over his opponent's lack of sight. Seizing an opening he charged in for the kill, wasting no time in jabbing his dagger in the goon's eye.

The persistent bastard refused to go down as neatly as his predecessor and continued to struggle, managing to send Sai spiraling into a nearby tree before collapsing himself.

Slightly disoriented from hitting the tree, Sai cast his crimson gaze where Seriyan was fighting her own opponent, when his gaze flicked to the abandoned documents. Shaking his head, he darted for the papers not wanting the wind to blow them away or worse - getting damaged in the struggle.

Seriyan sent a blast of fire at her opponent, using the light from it to get her bearings and leaped onto a nearby tree stump and hit him again with another blast of fire sending him closer to Sai.

Sai anticipated her move and had his dagger ready, moving slightly so as not to miss.

The battle ground turned slightly brighter as some of the clouds parted revealing the full moon that had been hidden most of the evening. The beauty surreal over the bloody battle ground.

"Got the documents?" she asked curiously, tilting her head to the side, as he made his way over to her and taking his offered hand.

"Yeah. I'm fixing to send them to Siennah now," he nodded, already focusing on making another shadow creature. This time, it was an owl, "take these back to Embezzler's base," he instructed the creature who gave a quick swoop around its master and Seriyan before taking to the skies and disappearing from view.

"Dishevel your clothes a bit more," he enjoined taking his own bloody shirt and gloves off, calling forth his shadow horse once again, "in case we run into guards. They are sure be patrolling, plus the search team is still out and about.. I'd rather them think we're like horny rabbits than to suspect us of foul play," he admitted, already calling forth his shadows to swallow the remains. "I'd say lets return to the festival but the blood on our clothes is suspicious."

"At least the horses got away," Seriyan commented softly, complying by removing her shirt so that her skin-tight undershirt showed, "maybe they'll think that they ditched the horses and made off by boat," pointing to the lake as she spoke.

"Perhaps so," he agreed quietly, once again helping her back on the horse. "Hmm..." He murmured as he hopped up himself. "Ah hah," he said while taking a hand and ruffling her hair.

"Excuse," she growled swatting his hand away, "it's going to get tangled and brushing it out hurts," she muttered, groaning when she felt knots. "Just great," she hissed, "You're going to be the one to brush them out since you put them there."

"Well your hair looked a little _too perfect_," he answered subliminally, before sighing in relentment,"and fine. I'll do it when we get back in the room, are you happy now?"

"Extremely _pleasured_," she answered sarcastically, leaning her head against his chest while Sai guided the horse on a longer, more round about way back to the castle.

* * *

"_I can't believe whats happening_

_I don't know what to say_

_And what I wouldn't give to change our fate_

_I don't wanna live this way, it haunts my mind_

_And I just need to get it straight, stop wasting time_

_And I don't wanna live and feel that I can change whats right_

_But I know, we'll be living in a lie_

_And I've tried so hard to hold on_

_But I keep on falling_

_And no matter how hard I run_

_I just keep returning_

_And I'm back to where I started from"_

"_I Don't Wanna" - Within Temptation_

* * *

**I really apologize with how slow this chapter is. It'll pick up soon, I swear. I really tried my best to make it not so blah for you lovely people to read. And… I'm not very good at writing action-y fight scenes, my apologies - I tried. **

**(and this wasn't exactly an important fight)**

**Uh yeah. RIP random thugs that are rivals to Embezzler that I didn't give a shit to give any names, depth or character development too. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY FOR GENERIC PEOPLE!**

**Characters in this Chapter:**

**Deathsai, Seriyan, Deadoz**

**Mentioned in this Chapter:**

**Siennah, Ksenny**


End file.
